4.2 Defects 

If the EPO as receiving Office finds that, at the time of receipt, the international application does not comply with one or more of the requirements under Art. 11 for according an international filing date, it will invite the applicant to file the required correction(s) within two months of the date of the invitation (Form PCT/RO/103). If the applicant complies, the international filing date will be the date of receipt of the correction(s); otherwise, the application will not be treated as an international application (Form PCT/RO/104). For further details on the procedure followed by the EPO as receiving Office in the event of defects under Art. 11(1), see GL/RO 45-48 and 50.

If the defect is the omission of an element (description or claims), the applicant may decide either to furnish the missing element as a correction under Art. 11(2) and R. 20.3(a)(i) as described above or to confirm its incorporation by reference. The second option is described in GL/PCT‑EPO A‑II, 5.

If the time limit for the correction of the purported international application expires after the 12-month priority period, the applicant's attention is drawn to this circumstance in Form PCT/RO/103.